Apologetic Biggar brutal with his Ospreys criticism

OSPREYS outside-half Dan Biggar has apologised to the fans following the near embarrassment against RaboDirect Pro12 minnows Zebre.

OSPREYS outside-half Dan Biggar has apologised to the fans following the near embarrassment against RaboDirect Pro12 minnows Zebre.

Biggar scored his side’s 16 points, including a try, as the defending champions squeaked through 16-15 at the the Liberty Stadium against the bottom club.

It was a fourth successive victory following wins against Toulouse, the Scarlets and Dragons which lifted the Ospreys above the Scarlets as the top Welsh region in the table.

But Biggar was brutal in his assessment of his region’s display.

“We were poor and we have to apologise for that performance,” said Biggar. “We have to give credit to the opposition because they played well and they slowed possession down. If you can’t control the tackle area you are going to struggle and that is what happened.

“The players are in for a hard week of training and we can have no complaints.”

Ospreys backs coach Gruff Rees also pulled no punches about his side’s display.

“It was disappointing and there’s no getting away from the fact we were poor,” said Rees.

“I’m numb as a coach. We’re a power-based team and, when we do things really well and put ourselves in the right areas, we do squeeze and strangle sides.

“We just loosened up and played a game that was unnatural to us. I know we wanted more ball in play but it certainly wasn’t the style we were looking for.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that the changes we made disrupted us. I just think it’s the culmination of three tough games in a short amount of time, and trying to manage the squad through the different physical demands that presents.

“We also have to compliment the opposition, who made it hard for us at the breakdown and caused us to play where we shouldn’t have been playing. That’s to their credit and our frustration.”

Rees hopes this poor performance will act as a wake-up call ahead of next Sunday’s Heineken Cup clash against Leicester in Swansea.

“In some ways it’s good for us because we’re often talking about how we want to push our attacking game and how it’s based on real substance,” added Rees.

“It does present a good coaching challenge for us and it’s nice to get back to a normal working week for us.

“We’ve looked at Leicester already as a coaching group so we’ve already got a few little ideas. We’re going to have to go toe-to-toe with the Tigers and take our chances when they arise.”

The Ospreys are waiting on the fitness of flanker Justin Tipuric (shoulder) and centre Ashley Beck (ankle) who missed the Zebre victory, while Andrew Bishop was a late withdrawal with a back problem.

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.